Crosby practiced with the team on Monday as part of a "fifth line" with forwards Dustin Jeffrey and Joe Vitale. He resumed skating with the team last week.

Pittsburgh went 9-4-0 without Crosby, counting the game in which he played just one shift due to the broken jaw. And while the team would gladly welcome his return, the squad and Crosby are confident that they can get the job done without their captain.

"Throughout the years, this team's battled through a lot of crazy injuries to the top guys," winger James Neal told NHL.com. "For us, we just need to keep playing our game; you can't change anything or worry about anything. I think we do a good job of that, and at the same time it gives a chance for guys to step up, and you definitely saw that when Sid, Geno, (Letang) and myself weren't in the lineup."

The Penguins, the Eastern Conference's top seed, enter the playoffs as the favorite in the East. The team is getting healthy at the right time with Evgeni Malkin and Neal rejoining the lineup last week after missing time due to injuries. Defenseman Brooks Orpik did not practice due to a lower-body injury.